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Leipzig (AP) - Andreas Gursky, one of the world's most successful contemporary photographers, is exhibiting for the first time in his native Leipzig.
Almost 60 of his large-format works from 35 years can be seen from March 25 to August 22 in the Museum of Fine Arts.
"I'm very emotional to finally be able to open the exhibition, and I'm grateful that I was able to take control of the selection and compilation here," said the 66-year-old in Leipzig.
Almost the entire upper floor of the house is covered with his monumental collages, almost 1500 square meters in 15 rooms.
In addition to major works such as “Ruhrtal”, “Paris, Montparnasse” or “99 Cent”, new works from the previous year can also be seen for the first time.
The motifs of Gursky's works are known to everyone, they come from the present: It is about mass events, the world of work, leisure, places of consumption, sport, but also politics.
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In “Politics II”, for example, top German politicians gather around a board commemorating the “Last Supper”.
“This work was more of a by-product, the arrangement of the people was chosen deliberately.
But I want to leave the interpretation to the viewer, ”explained Gursky.
Gursky constructs his own world of images with the help of digital photography.
For his work “Amazon” he photographed the shipping giant in the USA for two days.
It was not immediately clear to him what the picture would ultimately look like.
"I don't interpret the object when I take it, I look at it from a distance," explained the 66-year-old.
Then he put the numerous shots together seamlessly, slice by slice, to form a large image.
In terms of content, however, nothing is falsified.
"The images have to work from the composition, but the focus is on the documentary character."
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Gursky was born in Leipzig in 1955, the same year the family fled to the West.
His monumental pictures hang in famous museums around the world and achieve top prices on the art market - his work "Rhein II", which was auctioned for $ 4.3 million in 1999, is considered the most expensive photography in the world.
The artist has lived in Düsseldorf since 1957 and studied photography at the art academy there.
He also lives in Ibiza.
The show was originally supposed to open in December, but the date had to be postponed due to the corona pandemic.
The museums in Leipzig have reopened since mid-March, with strict hygiene concepts, few visitors and fixed time windows.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210324-99-952052 / 4
Exhibition Andreas Gursky